Ice Cream or Gelato?

Today is day #2 in my month of ice cream. I was talking to a coworker about the difference between gelato and ice cream. She called her Italian mom to find out more about gelato. It turns out that gelato is not just the Italian word for ice cream as I had always thought. It’s normally made with milk instead of cream and the lower fat content actually brings out the flavors. Lower in fat and more flavorful – Italians are smart people! Gelato is also made a little bit differently than ice cream, with less aeration, which gives it a denser consistency.

I should have applied what I learned today when I made tonight’s batch of fresh lemon ice cream. I used two cups of heavy cream and one cup of milk. It tasted good but I wish it was a little more lemony. In the recipe below, I recommend using two cups of milk and only one cup of heavy cream. I had also planned to add limoncello to my ice cream, but when I saw the price tag, I changed my mind (yes, I’m cheap!). If you have it, adding a little limoncello to the ice cream would be delicious. Alcohol will soften the consistency of ice cream so don’t add too much!

#29 – Fresh Lemon Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Zest of 2 or 3 lemons

1 tablespoon limoncello

In a medium bowl, mix the milk and cream. Whisk in the sugar and salt until they’re dissolved. Add the lemon juice and freeze in an ice cream maker immediately (so it doesn’t cause the milk to curdle). Add the lemon zest and limoncello (if you’re using it) at the end of the freezing process.

What a gorgeous dessert! I can taste it now. I love lemon ice cream and I think it’s so fun to eat it out of the actual fruit. I just learned about the difference between gelato and ice cream a few weeks ago in a gelato shop. I agree…the Italians are smart! Not to mention fabulous cooks! ;)

Novell, I have this one, but mine’s an older model I bought from a friend for $10. It works really well as long as the liquid is chilled when you pour it into the ice cream maker. The restaurant I worked in had this one, which is nice because you don’t have to chill the bowl before you make ice cream.